


What is a friend?

by Matsu_Megurine



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Awkward Romance, Character Study, Fluff, Friendship/Love, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I tagged both Gils because it might be either version, Other, mentions of MC - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 21:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16818799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matsu_Megurine/pseuds/Matsu_Megurine
Summary: One certain Clay Doll is summoned into Chaldea and is not at all pleased with their King's stubbornness about making new friends





	What is a friend?

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhh >////<  
> I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm extra-excited about this pairing since the 7th Singularity is about to be out, so here we are! For some reason not even I know, I decided not to write their actual names, purely for artistic purposes lol  
> ... I probably should get myself a beta...  
> Anyways, I hope you guys like it!

The King was standing on the upper deck of Chaldea's facility, facing the large glass windows that covered most of the surroundings. By his side, for the first time in millennia, there was that one person he had been sure he would never feel the joy of seeing.

And, yet, there they were.

The Clay Doll smiled at him when he faced them, and the King wondered how such thing was even possible.

When alive, he foolishly believed they would reunite in the _Ersetu_ , the Underworld. That was quickly set aside once he - at least, _that_ him - realized his afterlife would be spent in the so-called Throne of Heroes, not in the wasted land of the dead he had heard about. It wasn't a decision he regretted, however. And, yes, he was aware that was a decision he made himself.

He'd never hoped to see his friend like that. For the gods had stated that a clay doll had neither human body nor soul. Therefore, if the Throne of Heroes were to bring them up as a Servant, it’d be only due to the weight of the Epic, without it _actually being_ that person.

They would be a copy. A puppet with their face and voice. But never the real one.

However, there they stood. And the King held not the slightest doubt. Just as he didn’t when they first met in life.

As soon as he casted his eyes upon them, he knew. That Servant was no fake. Were that the truth, though, it’d be in the very same way the King himself was a shadow of the person he was when alive.

_Well, that matters not._

The thought crossed his mind.

_Even if I lack some part of the original me, I may as well renounce that... I am a complete being, so I suppose it’s the same for them…_

Right then, he heard his friend’s voice,

“Don’t you wish you could see the outer world?”

They asked such question while wearing that foolish smile. The King sighed and answered in an uninterested tone.

“I would, had I been summoned earlier in this era… The outsides are doomed now, however, so there is no use in going sightseeing.”

That was a lie. There probably were still lots of things in the present world for him to see, even if the people were dead and most of it was indeed destroyed… There was quite a charm in clearing the lands alongside a friend. Still, he cared too much for that mongrel of a Master of them… He knew that the collapse of the world would sooner than later reach Chaldea’s inhabitants if they leave, and just for the sake of some childish errand, to top that!

The Clay Doll’s smile gradually vanished.

“Does it worry you that much that you’re not the ruler anymore?”

He sneered.

“I am certainly not a saint to fit myself as a Ruler” he joked.

“Come on, you know what I mean” they stepped closer while talking. “Not even when Uruk was endangered by the Bull of Heavens you wore such blurred eyes… My guess is that it’s because you no longer reign over all things and people. You show unease because, this time, it’s not up to you to solve the problems.”

The King blinked.

“Do I… show unease?” He asked, unsure of what to think about it.

The Clay Doll narrowed their eyes, but smiled softly at him.

“As far as I can see, you do. Though I’m pretty sure not even our Master can read you as I do.”

They vaunted just to tease him, of course, but it was still a pretty accurate statement. The King clicked his tongue.

“How dare you… I am simply allowing that mongrel to take the decisions, since it would be too much of a nuisance to me.”

His friend giggled, high-spirited as always.

“I know, right~? Well, but what is it that you usually do in here, anyways? Have you found any friends in some of the other Heroes?”

The King averted their gaze.

“No…”

“You should, though.”

“I told you I wouldn’t”, he yelled. “I could never disrespect you like that!”

Without warning, the Clay Doll jumped aiming a blade-like leg at his face. It was easily refrained, but then they quickly pulled their friend’s head. He lost his balance, but locked their upper body between his legs, dragging them down with him. The Clay Doll rolled on the floor, releasing their body, and went forward to try to hit the King’s face once again. He held their arms to make them stop, still fighting from the floor.

“Wha—”

“Whatever in this tiny royal brain of yours makes you think you’d be disrespecting me??”

“You are the empty-headed one in here! You are one of a kind, you are way above all of them, and I don’t need these defective mongrels to try to do something as _replace_ you!”

“I don’t want you to replace me, stupid Gil!!!”

The King stared at them with a clouded expression. He frowned, but said no more.

“I never wished for you to replace me”, they confessed, sounding rather heartbroken. “But I didn’t want you to be alone if I knew I would not be able to stay by your side… forever.”

They stared at each other, gazing deeply in their partner’s eyes. The Clay Doll had a shaking expression. Their eyes, a storm of emotions melting whatever sores they felt into aggressiveness.

“You are not making any sense, friend of mine”, he pointed out, sitting up. “So you do want to be exclusive, yet you want me to have other friends?”

“Yeah…” The Clay Doll seemed wavering. They looked like a reprimanded child who still hadn’t given up their point.

The King sighed. “So what in the world _are you_ trying to say?”

He lifted up his gaze to the other one’s as if saying they’d had to explain him this kind of things. It was no mystery that the blonde King was quite more literal than his friend. That’s why, in that ancient past of them, he needed them to help understanding his dreams. The King was tragically bad in reading the mood and processing subtle words, despite how wise he might have grown to be in life.

“Perhaps what I’m saying”, the Clay Doll showed innocent eyes. They sat by his side and tilted their head while stating the idea, “is that we might have ways to remain… exclusive, and yet allow other people to have room in yours, I mean, in our lives.”

The King didn’t give their idea so much credit, and that was clear by his expression. He knew where that came from, though. Nowadays, there were all sorts of labels for all sorts of things. He didn’t quite liked it. He preferred to act the way _he_ wanted, naming things included. His partner, his one and only friend, on the other hand seemed open-minded to new concepts, even if it meant changing the way they had been calling each other.

For The Clay Doll, it was not that weird of an idea. They were created in accords to the nature, as wild and mutable as it might be. At the time they met the King, they were already a completely different being from the beast they were born as. The ability to change was such an important feature for the Clay Doll that it came to be expressed as one as their skills as a Servant.

However,

“No, I refuse to call you in a different way”, was the King’s reply. “It holds a special meaning, far greater than the literal, current one.”

“I’m not actually asking you to!” The Clay Doll frowned, less patient with that stubborn demigod Servant. “But you can see that we’re way more than simply friends…”

A chuckle.

“Are you perhaps asking me to be your _boyfriend_ instead?”

Very much to his surprise, however, the Clay Doll didn’t immediately denied that. Not only that, they didn’t denied at all.

“Maybe I am”, they said after a few more fidgeting moments. Their eyes were as fierce and sure as usual, almost making the King gasp in exasperation.

“Are you out of your gods-damned mind?!?”

“What in the world would be wrong with that???”

“You… You are not my _lover_! Something as feeble as that…”

“Well…” Their eyes wavered still showing hints of roughness. “We are partners, aren’t we? And I know you like me enough to say it out loud.”

The King opened his mouth as if he wanted to talk back, but the words failed him.

The Clay Doll grinned, victorious.

The King’s face flushed. That was ridiculous, attributing some mongrel-like title to their relationship. “So, what, are we asking each other out now, after some thousands of years?”

He showed them a preposterous smile, trying to get along with it.

The Clay Doll smiled brighter than any star out there.

“Yes, I’d love that!” They leaned closer to the blonde man. “Then, you could start by allowing Master to be your friend~”

“That’s rushing things up, for sure!” He pettishly cut them.

“Hasn’t it been months since the two of you met, contracted as Servant and Master and all…?” They mocked him.

“I care not”, he repeated. “Also, I’ll keep addressing you by ‘friend of mine’. Don’t think I would do otherwise.”

“You already said that and I can go along with that, so no problems.”

_He doesn’t seem to understand that I have no intention of changing a thing about the two of us… He just need to see that it doesn’t stop him from having more people around. Friends, comrades, allies… Either way is fine._

The Clay Doll smiled softly with this in mind.

…After all, that should be lonely… Being a King without his people.

“Well”, said the Clay Doll with their typical innocent expression, “having you as my boyfriend makes me realize there’s something I have never said to you…”

The blonde man glanced at him with an inquiring look in his scarlet eyes.

“What is it?”

“I love you.”

The King lifted an eyebrow to the Clay Doll. “Moron, I know that”, he sounded unimpressed.

“I know you do. But I wanted to say it myself for once. It’s satisfying.”

“Satisfying, huh?” He mocked. “You’re as much of a weirdo as always, I see.”

The Clay Doll stuck their tongue out at him. They both laughed.

“Hey, _boyfriend_ ”, they called, “could you give me a kiss?”

The King answered by punching their chest. It was a strong blow, but nothing far from their usual play moves.

“Jester. Asking me something like that is so unlike you…” He mumbled, with reddening cheeks.

So, before he could stop them, the Clay Doll leaned closer and brought their lips together. The King said no other word. He numbly kissed the other Servant back, bringing them close and deepening their contact.

“I wouldn’t change”, the Clay Doll reassured him. “I won’t cease to be a nemesis for your strength, even if I do want to spend a few of our days in kisses.”

He stared at their greenish eyes. His dear friend had always been that intense. As soon as they made up their mind, their eyes would fuel up with that fiery personality. He founded it dazzling. That was probably the reason why he could never say no to a thing his partner would ask him. He moved his face forward and went back to exchanging kisses, playful caresses and some soft laughter.

That person had the oddest effects over him.

Usually, he’d find himself bored and annoyed because there was nothing he could do to release all his energy, all his superhumanly strength and vitality. The world before the Clay Doll walked into his life was a bore both five millenia ago and now. As soon as they did, however… he no longer needed to feel incomplete. That was the genius in the gods’ plan, even if it wasn’t exactly what they were waiting for:

The Divine Noble Phantasm didn’t have to kill or restrain the Arrogant King. They defeated him purely by becoming his partner. By staying by his side.


End file.
